138 



The Irish Naturalist. 



August, 



Immense tracts of calcareous grassland, and numerous 

 and extensive peat bogs characterize the landscape in many 

 districts, esker ridges and hillocks are frequent, and bare 

 limestone crag is exposed over large areas. Many old 

 woods, native or anciently planted, occur, those on the 

 limestone crag at Coole, Garryland and Lough Cutra, near 

 Gort, and those on the Old Red Sandstone near Woodford 

 being of special interest. In the west a coast line of about 

 thirty miles is presented by the indentations of Galway 

 Bay, from Aughinish to Oranmore, along which are small 

 estuaries and brackish pools. 



The districts around Gort and Ballinasloe seem to 

 produce the largest land fauna, and the waters of the 

 Shannon, the Grand Canal, and Lough Rea present the 

 greatest number of aquatic species. 



Lough Rea, a fine sheet of beautifully clear water about 

 a square mile in extent, situated in the centre of the vice- 

 county, with limestone bottom and surroundings, is ex- 

 ceedingly prolific, it contains no fewer than thirty-three 

 species, including ten of our thirteen Irish Pisidia, and is 

 also remarkable for peculiar forms of Limnaea pereger, L. 

 stagnalis, L. palustris, and Neritina fluviatilis. Immense 

 numbers of shells are cast up on its shores during gales, 

 and I have on such occasions met with deposits over four 

 feet long and two feet wide, consisting almost entirely of 

 Pisidia, and here and there large fringes of various univalves 

 and Sphaerium corncum. 



This is in marked contrast to Lough Atorick, situated 

 among the non-calcareous hills about six miles west of 

 Woodford, in which I have found only fourteen species, 

 and but very few drift shells scattered on its shores. 



The Grand Canal in the neighbourhood of Ballinasloe 

 seems likely to be destroyed as a habitat for some of the 

 rarer and less hardy species. During the past two or three 

 years motor barges have been used there ; these stir up 

 the mud, and discharge quantities of oil which, mixing 

 together, keep the water in a constant state of pollution. 

 Alresidy Bithynia Leachi, Amphipeplea glutinosa, Limnaea 

 auricular ia, and other species have greatly diminished in 



